Fishing
Cumberland Valley, Pennsylvania, where Whistlestop Bookshop is situated, is generously watered and drained by creeks renowned for their fishing. Conodoguinet Creek, which flows about 100 miles to the Susquehanna River and is nearest to Carlisle, is actually better known for the fishing in its two tributaries, Big Spring Creek out of the Newville area (only 5 miles) and Letort Spring Run, which arises south of Carlisle and flows north 9 miles to the Conodoguinet. The Yellow Breeches Creek, which flows along South Mountain for 56 miles to the Susquehanna, is internationally famous for its trout fishing.
Naturally, a trout-fishing and especially a fly-fishing culture has developed, sometimes thought to be mostly local, sometimes acknowledged to be of world interest — the world that loves the quiet and focus and solitary rewards of fly-fishing. Rarely, the local zen masters of fishing wrote books. Charlie Fox was once a customer of Whistlestop, and Joe Humphreys is still in print and in fact the subject of a documentary we carry. Fishing does inspire fine writing, after all — the names of Izaak Walton, Norman MacLean, Thomas McGuane, Patrick McManus, John Gierach suggest the range of approaches in writing about “standing in a river waving a stick,” to use Gierach’s famous descripton.
Dedicated to the memory of a great fisherman and an even better brother, Gordon Wood (1956-2020).
A Modern Dry-Fly Code
A Modern Dry-Fly Code
Merging a poetic reverence for the art of fly fishing with a wealth of practical information and technical advice, Vincent Marinaro's, A Modern Dry-Fly Code is the classic guide to dry-fly fishing. Originally written in 1950 as the sport was languishing for lack of innovation, this book helped bring about a fly-fishing renaissance on riverbanks across America. An ideal book for readers who share Marinaro's deep reverence for the fisherman's connection to the unspoiled natural world, A Modern Dry-Fly Code will have you yearning for the sound of running brook water, eager to try some of the author's legendary fly patterns, casting techniques, and scouting tips.
The product of a lifetime of experience wading in the waters of the Letort, Big Spring, and other south Pennsylvania streams, A Modern Dry-Fly Code significantly changed the way American anglers think about dry-fly fishing. In addition to detailed information on matching hatches, trout behavior and biology, and where and when to cast which types of flies, Marinaro introduces several ideas of his own invention based on the results of his many experimental outings. Among the revolutionary ideas set forth in this book are Marinaro's 'minutiae', miniscule flies designed to imitate the dozens of tiny insects that swarm over the surface of the water as well as his thorax-style technique for crafting superb dry-flies.
For beginners and expert fishermen alike, there is much wisdom to be gleaned from Marinaro's inventive and curious inquiry into the nature and practice of fly-fishing.